Thursday, July 10, 2008

Gimme Shelter... (preferably well-insulated with a lot of natural light and good ventilation)

Here are some images of the roof insulation arriving last week. All those palettes of white plastic contain separate layers of 2" thick rigid insulation. We have 4 layers laid on top of each other (staggered) and then adhered together. The resulting 8" thickness gives us an R-value of 40. Typical insulation provides roughly R-5 per inch. Our roofer, Ray Nocella (of Nocella Roofing) did a great job on the installation and subsequent waterproofing. After the insulation was installed, a 1/4" layer of "DensDeck" was adhered to the insulation, he then applied 2 layers of "modified bitumen" roofing membrane (laid in alternate directions to ensure water tightness), then added a "silver coating" element. Next, goes the root barrier, and at that point, the green roof installation guys take over. So by the end of last week, the roof was totally waterproofed which allowed us to install all the windows. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, after all is said and done, we should have an R-value of about 50 for the roof. Very cozy indeed. And oh yes... many thanks to our next door neighbors for the letting us use their roof as an access point.

Here's a shot of the Third Floor windows installed (and opened up). The small image on the right is looking out the side window of the Master Bedroom. There is a beautiful tree next door that provides a bit of privacy and lot of shade. As you can see, when these large casements are opened it allows a tremendous amount of fresh air to pass through the house. We are very impressed with the overall look and the quality of the Kolbe windows and doors. We decided to go with the factory pre-stained for the wood interior (Chestnut color) and flat black for the exterior aluminum cladding. It's a nice combination.

The contractor says the enormous front window in the bedroom (which he is still cursing my name due to the difficulty in getting it up there!) makes the Third Floor feel like a airplane hanger. Just wait till we clad it in metal.

A few images of the casement windows and patio door installed in the kitchen. Being able to have all these casements (along with the door) open up will really connect the kitchen with the back patio. If you look at the upper left image, the horizontal wood blocking in the wall framing indicates roughly where the kitchen counter will be and the generator (on the floor) is roughly where the kitchen sink will be (centered on the middle window.)

This blog documents the renovation of our personal residence, a 100-yr. old rowhouse in Philadelphia. We learned so much along the way that we wanted to share our experience and research with others.

We'd love to hear from you. Contact us at info[at]solibs.com or visit our company website: solibs.com.

Photos of the house

Project Specs

The original two-story house was 900 SF without a functional kitchen, plumbing that barely worked, and significant roof damage. It was essentially a liveable shell, but it had solid bones and plenty of potential.

We gutted the entire house while salvaging & recycling as much as possible along the way. By adding a third floor and extending the house at the rear, we'll ultimately have 1,850 SF with 3 BR/2.5 BA/Study, as well as a full unfinished basement for storage.

The project is currently registered with the USGBC and is pursuing LEED for Homes Platinum certification.To see Floor Plansand Elevations of the project, see the Wednesday, May 7th blog post.

We have successfully installed a stormwater planter in front of Montrose Green. And what exactly is a "stormwater planter", you as...

Bench Dog Design

Bench Dog Design is the creative team behind the design & fabrication of several key features of Montrose Green including the stair treads, bartop, vanity cabinet, wall surfacing, outdoor bench, and roof access ladder. All of these elements were made from locally salvaged wood and fabricated in Bench Dog's own Philadelphia workshop.

Open House Party - 7/11

A big thank you to the nearly 300 people who joined us on 7/11 to tour the house! For those who missed the big event, check out the upcoming Open House schedule above. Click the image above to see a slideshow of photos from the party!